Journey Thus Far
(This is just a summary, you can make this super fancy if you want/can remember stuff, if i don't do that first -Jo) * Party of Cedric (played by Jo), Guy (Played by Madi), Glanwynn (played by Lily), Brumpo (played by Ryan), and Sera (played by Cindy) meets randomly in The Wolf's Jaw Tavern and Inn * Party watches belligerent drunken man come into the bar and accost the bartender, demanding ale. Bartender fearfully denies him any, as he had been banned from the tavern. The drunken man picks up and strangles the bartender, screaming for ale. The party attacks him. * The man's head splits open, and he transforms into some sort of dark, writing beast. One of the demons in this world. The party fights and kills the demon. While they are heroes for saving the man (and likely the rest of the tavern patrons), they are arrested by the captain of the guard. * The captain of the guard, Alexis, believed the party to be heroes for slaying the demon, but the royal vizier thought them to be criminals who belonged in the royal jail. The captain had no choice but to lock them in the dungeon while she pleaded with the queen for their freedom. The dungeon is where Cedric found the skull of Nazak (originally flavoured to be a piece of marble that is suspiciously skull-shaped) * The Queen asked for an audience with the party, promising them their freedom on one condition: they escort the Prince back to the city of Arden. We were informed that the Prince and his troops were holed up in a camp as they fought the demons in the forest, and that their forces were weakening every day. The Queen had a girl, Anastasia (NPC controlled by the DM, Manny) accompany us. * The party spent a few days preparing in town, meeting with various people and contacts, speaking with various shop keepers. Anastasia sold her royal armor (which was too big for her to wear) so the party could afford better gear. In the evening we dine at a restaurant of Anastasia's choice. The waitress (and owner if I remember correctly) welcomes the party, and exclaims with joy and surprise of Anastasia being there. She greets her as, "The Princess." The Party (sans Anastasia) sleeps in The Wolf's Jaw Tavern at the end of the day. * The party embarks on their quest, their trek taking weeks (on foot, carriage, ferry, and horseback, not in that order). On their way to the city nearest the forest, they were stopped by bandits posing as guards. When the party threatened them, they were attacked. None of the Bandits were killed, but were all robbed by Brumpo and Sera. * Within the city, the party met at The Seaman's Cauldron so Brumpo could meet with his contact, Karl Marx. As they discussed business, the rest of the party passed the time in their own ways. Cedric drank lightly, Sera got caught pickpocketing, and Guy and Anastasia drank a "fishbowl" (their characters didn't know what a fishbowl was) while Glanwynn scolded them for letting Anastasia drink. At one point, Guy tries to cut Anastasia off, but Anastasia wrestles the bowl away. (I'd like to mention that this 13 year old girl who is a cleric wrestles this drink away from a 20-30 year old paladin man) * Brumpo's contact Karl helps the party cross the river into the forest with his ferry. On the way down the river, the party is attacked by water nymphs, which are otherwise known to be good and kind creatures. They drag Anastasia into the water as they fought, and Guy prays to Sheyln for a blessing, who gives him an aquatic body and gills. He dives into the water to save Anastasia. We all make it out alive. We learn here that when Cedric throws the skull of Nazak into the water, it creates a violent whirlpool. Pulls the skull back to his hand using his mind. * The party stops for emergency rest in a guard fortress, seeking care for Anastasia and her case of hypothermia. They are given tents to rest in during the evening. * Once Anastasia is better, they leave again, embarking on Karl's boat once more. They finally reach a good safe point, and they make the rest of the way on foot. In a safe, lightly-wooded part of the forest, they make camp for the night. They awake to the sight of a giant humanoid tree, unmoving, with its finger to Anastasia's forehead. When engaged, the humanoid tree burst into a cloud of glowing green butterflies that vanished with the wind. It spoke to her in a language that Glanwynn vaguely recognized. * Within the forest, they are surrounded by darkness and evil. They're lost within the maze of trees, just barely navigating their way through. (work in progress)